HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-22-2012 Telecommunications CommissionAGENDA
IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST. -TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY
OCTOBER 22, 2012, 5:30PM
1. Call to order
2. Approval of minutes
3. Announcements of Commissioners
4. Short public announcements
5. REPORTS
Consumer Issues
Mediacom Report
Local Access Reports
Cable Administrator Report
6. Joint Access Facility
7. Adjournment
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CABLE TELEVISON ADMINISTRATOR
CITY OF IOWA CITY
October 16, 2012
TO: The Iowa City Telecommunications Commission
FM: Bob Hardy, Cable Television Administrator
RE: Customer Issue Report for September 2012
9/5/12: Former MCC customer wished to inform the City of issues regarding MCC
telephone service. He has also informed the Iowa Utilities Board. Customer was updated
on current franchise, State cable law, and limits of City regulation. Resolved 9/5/12
9/18/12: Customer had cable service in Iowa City until recently. Customer moved to
North Liberty and continued MCC service there. Is now being told they have 5 DATs
from Iowa City and are also being told they have to retain them or pay for them ($600
plus). Their Iowa City account has been sent to collections. Customer bad only one
cabled TV and one cable box that was turned that box in to the service tech that
connected their service in North Liberty. They never signed any paper work for all of the
boxes MCC claims they have. Service Center rep insist they have these boxes. To Rick
Karnes. After investigation local MCC rep found that the boxes assigned to the customer
had never been shipped and this was an error. Consulting with the Service Tech, found
other equipment was retuned and accounted for. Customer's account was adjusted.
Resolved 9/20/12
9/20/12: Customer lost sound on selective channels about 10 days ago. When he tried to
call Mediacom he got a recording that the service number was not working and to call
again. When he finally go a hold of a representative later he was put "on hold" first for 20
minutes and then for 50 minutes. Finally made contact signals were sent with no result
so was set up with appointment for today. When lie asked about the service call number
being out was told it was a national problem with 3 States involved. Was home today for
appointment and got a phone call from the "repair person ". This person told him to go to
his TV set and hit the 'language button' and the issue was fixed. This customer is very
upset that MCC could not have just fixed the issue when he called 10 days ago. Wants a
refund for his loss of service and a second cable company. To Rick Karnes. Customer
received an adjustment for billing and other credit for the related period.
IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION DRAFT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24,2012--5:30 P.M.
CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST. -TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY
MEMBERS PRESENT: Lama Bergus, Alexa Homewood, Matt Butler, Hans Hoerschelman,
Nicholas Kilburg
MEMBERS ABSENT:
STAFF PRESENT: Mike Brau, Bob Hardy
OTHERS PRESENT: Josh Goding, Lee Grassley (by phone), Beth Fisher, Emily Light, Kevin
Hoyland
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL
None at this time.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION
Hoerschelman distributed the draft of the broadband survey. The hard copy survey now corresponds to
the electronic version on the website. This will facilitate transferring data into a common format. The
means to distribute information about the survey and the hard copy version needs to be worked out and
will likely include the newspapers, PSAs on Mediacom, and distribution of business cards containing
the information. Brau said about 300 responses are needed to reach a 95% reliability level. Hardy said
he will contact city IT staff for additional input. Grassley reported that the retransmission consent
agreement with Sinclair expires at the end of the year. Sinclair is asking for a 92% increase in fees.
Mediacom is participating is a program in association with the FCC and the National Cable Television
Association to make Internet service available to low income families at a reduced rate. The cost will
be about $9.95 for a 3 -5 megabit connection. There is also a program to provide low -cost laptops. It is
hoped that the program can start by the end of the school year. Hardy met with the PATV board and
the board expressed some concern regarding moving into a joint access facility. If a combined facility
is pursued any savings will be put into a reserve fund to help alleviate reduced fund under a state
franchise. Some board members expressed a concern that the city is trying to decrease the level of
funding for PATV or that the city is trying to gain control of PATV. Bergus noted that Mediacom has
entered into agreements with cities that have been transferred to state franchises to continue to provide
some level of support that had been included in their prior municipal franchise and asked if the city has
had any discussions with Mediacom regarding this issue. Hardy said he has not and noted that
Mediacom's agreements with other cities have not included any funding for public access operations.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Bergus moved and Kilburg seconded a motion to approve the amended August 27, 2012 minutes. The
motion passed unanimously.
ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS
Hoerschelman distributed the draft of the broadband survey. The hard copy survey now corresponds to
the electronic version on the website. This will facilitate transferring data into a common format. The
means to distribute information about the survey and the hard copy version needs to be worked out and
will likely include the newspapers, PSAs on Mediacom, and distribution of business cards containing
the information. Bran said about 300 responses are needed to reach a 95% reliability level. Hardy said
he will contact city IT staff for additional input.
SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
None.
CONSUMER ISSUES
Hardy referred to the complaint report in the meeting packet and noted that all complaints have been
resolved. Homewood asked about the complaint in which a subscriber was required to sign a two -year
contract for service. Hardy said the subscriber worked out a deal with Mediacom and did not sign a
two -year contract. Hoerschelman asked if Hardy ever inquired of subscribers with complaints how
they learned the city could assist them with their problems with Mediacom. Hardy said he has not
done so in the past but doing so is a good idea. Hardy said the city needs to inform the public that the
city can help resolve problems but has not clone so, in part, because he does not want to get calls from
subscribers who have not contacted Mediacom first. Hoerschelman said if subscribers were given a
trouble ticket number when they called Mediacom it could facilitate communication for follow -up.
Kilburg asked if Mediacom had a way to track calls that are placed but not completed due to
subscribers not wanting to wait on hold for extended periods of time and the total number of complaint
calls. Hoerschelman said lie believed that information is available.
MEDIACOM REPORT
Grassley participated by telephone and reported that the retransmission consent agreement with
Sinclair expires at the end of the year. Sinclair is asking for a 92% increase in fees. Mediacom is
participating is a program in association with the FCC and the National Cable Television Association
to make Internet service available to low income families at a reduced rate. Mediacom will first
implement the program in Georgia and once all procedures have been worked out will roll out the
program nation -wide. The cost will be about $9.95 for a 3 -5 megabit connection. There is also a
program to provide low -cost laptops. It is hoped that the program can start by the end of the school
year. Planned upgrades to the plant include a battery backup system for each node that can provide 4 -8
hours of power and a monitoring system that can track battery use. Hoerschelman said the city can
help Mediacom with community outreach when the low -cost Internet program is rolled out. Kilburg
asked about phone call placement and completion statistics. Grassley said Mediacom does track phone
calls but that information might be proprietary. Grasssley will make inquiries regarding that
information. Hoerschelman asked if Mediacom is using a tracking number for service calls and said
that if Mediacom does, it could facilitate communication between Mediacom and the city. Grassley
said did not know if tracking numbers are used but will find out.
LOCAL ACCESS CHANNELS REPORTS
Hoerschelman noted that some of the access channels provided written reports for the meeting packet.
Goding reported that PATV will cover a charity celebrity basketball game. Hoyland reported the
school channel's "Education Exchange" program has lined up content for the whole year. Video
content from the many sources around the school district is being collected and coordinated by Kate
Moreland for use on the channel. An intern might also be hired and could play a role in that effort.
CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Hardy said that his only item is the PATV contract which has its own agenda item.
PATV CONTRACT
Hardy said that at the end of the franchise in 6 years the city expects to have a third less revenues than
now for the city and PATV. Reserve funds need to be built now. The City Manager has invited
Goding and PATV board chair Tom Nothnagel to discuss this issue. Hardy met with the PATV board
and the board expressed some concern regarding moving into a joint access facility. If a combined
facility is pursued any savings will be put into a reserve fund to help alleviate reduced fund under a
state franchise. Some board members expressed a concern that the city is trying to decrease the level
of funding for PATV or that the city is trying to gain control of PATV. Hardy said he will talk with
the schools and library at some point to gather their input. Hoerschelman asked about the timeframe of
the prospective changes. Hardy said that PATV's contract was extended to March 2013 to provide
time to develop of a plan for the long -term funding of PATV and the city cable TV operations. The
city and PATV are looking at their space needs. Bergus noted that Mediacom has entered into
agreements with cities that have been transferred to state franchises to continue to provide some level
of support that had been included in their prior municipal franchise and asked if the city has had any
discussions with Mediacom regarding this issue. Hardy said he has not and noted that Mediacom's
agreements with other cities have not included any funding for public access operations. Bergus said
that North Liberty was able to maintain the pass - through funding mechanism. Bergus said its possible
there could be some legislative changes in the next six years.
ADJOUNMENT
Kilburg moved and Bergus seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion was approved unanimously. The
meeting was adjourned at 6:30.
Respectfully submitted,
- 77V-W
Michael Bran
Cable TV Administrative Aide
PATV Report to Iowa City Telecommunications Commission for October
PATP
PATV Rpcoming Meetings and lventsu
Puidelines orientation worksvop (free)u Monday, November 5, 7 PM.
Puidelines is also by appointment, as are all tecvnical classes.
PATV Annual Meeting and Board of uirectors meetingu Tvursday, November
T5, 7 PM
at ICPe meeting room 1. Open to the public.
Pome current or upcoming staff produced or assisted programs witv
community partnersu
P eandeocked Film Festival Pcreening and Filmakker Q&A ( "5ourneyTV ")
P "Preen Carpet" Coverage at eandeocked Film Festival
P "FoodlandIA ", local volunteers
P "Tve Pmartest Iowan" by PATV.
P "eive from Prairie eigvts", Prairie eigvts
P "AVui Vivimos" local volunteers
P "Talking titv Iale Covn" local volunteers
P "Tve eyle Ptyle Pvow" local volunteers
P "Frame" Peason P 1p. TAPTA, PATV
P "eive From Rptown Billys ", lctend the uream
P "Tomys Puitar Pvow ", local volunteers, lctend the uream
ttt.PATV.TV P AAoP7AA5 P patvToegmail.com
Respectfully submitted by 5osv Poding
PATV 3rd Quarter Program Statistics 2012
Number of New Programs by Categ01rV
NTnn Fl, i,nenl imnnrt Community
July
45
31
63
Aug
44
34
60
Set
41
35
62
TOTALS: 1311
luu
Number of New Programs
31%
p Local
EM Import
[]Community
153
Hours of New Programs by Category
na,..,+h 1.n,.ai bnnni -t Community
Jul
72.25
53
129.5
Aug
80.25
56.5
1 159.25
Set
1 64
50.25
1 126.25
TOTALS: 216.5
1SY.7tJ
Hours of New Programs
200'0 52 °% o OlLocal
® Import
❑ Community
28%
41n
Number of All Programs by Category
Mnnth Laval Import Community
July
108
59
146
Aug
107
53
1 139
Sept
120
61
1 162
TOTALS: 335
173
Number of All Programs
� $% ❑Local
47% ® Import
.,._�; ❑Community
35%
447
Hours of All Programs by Category
n4nnfh Lnral Imnort Community
July
183.75
133.75
420.5
Aug
235
120
389.75
Set
232
122.75
363.5
TOTALS: 650.75
376.5
Hours of All Programs
1 7% 53% ❑Local
® Import
❑ Community
30%
1173.75
There were 415 new programs produced in the 3rd quarter of 2012. 130 were local,
100 were import, and 185 were community.
There were 791.25 hours of new programming produced in the 3rd quarter of 2012.
216.5 hours were local, 159.75 were import, and 415 were community.
Date: October 16, 2012
To: The Iowa City Telecommunications Commission
From: Ty Coleman, Media Production Services Coordinator, City of Iowa City Cable TV
Re City of Iowa City Cable TV Division Quarterly Resort - July through September
Programming and Interactive Services
Website:
CitychanneWcom received 10,629 visits from 5,856 unique visitors, who looked at 14,497 pages
Our most popular sites were; Mediacom's channel lineup, Mediacom's cable rate page, our
streaming video page, our homepage, our access program schedule at the Press Citizen.com,
and our program schedule.
Streaming Media:
Our streaming media service provider reports that our live stream was accessed 550 times,
and our streaming media was accessed 8,209 times. The most - viewed streaming program was
JC Board of Supervisor's meeting of July 10 with 745 hits. Other top streaming views went to
University Heights City Council meeting of May 8, various Iowa City City Council meetings, the
August episode of Iowa City in Focus and the TIF forum of April 12.
Playback:
In this quarter, we played 277 different programs. 214 local programs were played a total of 2696
times for 1944 hours of total play and 63 imported programs were played back 657 times for 209
hours of total play.
Notable Accomplishments:
We are now in the process of switching over to our updated streaming media service. This will
allow users to watch video on demand programs on their tablets and smartphones, and some
noticeable improvements in picture quality. We'll be rolling out the new changes, along with a
new improved web page interface in the very near future.
Media Unit
Programs Produced:
In this quarter, the Media Unit produced 5 City Council Meetings, 4 Sights and Sounds
Updates of the Wastewater Consolidation Project, a series of photos for the South Wastewater
Consolidation Project, and the Gilbert Street Water Main Replacement Project Information
video. Also produced were 11 Market Music programs, one Kid's Day at the Market program, 4
Music Mixers (Market Music), and six PSAs for Party in the Park. A video for the City's Housing
Authority Voucher Program was also completed.
Local Government Meetings:
Government meetings prepared for playback included 13 Johnson County Board of Supervisors
Meetings, 4 North Liberty Council Meetings, 4 Coralville City Council Meetings, 3 University
Heights Council Meetings, and 1 Metropolitan Planning Organization Meeting.
Imported Programs:
The Media Unit also prepared for playback on Channel 4: The Constitution Series #7 program
from the League of Women Voters, 12 SCTV programs, 3 Army News Programs, 8 White House
Chronicles programs, 4 Perils for Pedestrians programs, 2 Road to Recovery programs, 6 NASA
Shorts, 2 Herbert Hoover Library and Museum programs, 1 Veterans Update program, and 12
Public Service Announcements.
Community Television Service (CTS)
In July, August, and September of 2012, the CTS completed the production of a total of 34
programs. Productions included: lectures and presentations, informational panels, community
forums, readings, concerts, video tours, a PSA, and more. The CTS worked with over 19 non-
profit organizations within this quarter.
In July, CTS served the local disabilities advocacy group known as Access2Independence
(formerly the Evert Conner Center) at its annual ADA Celebration. Events covered included a
round -table discussion, an awards presentation, and a lecture. Another production in July of
special note was a program held as part of the Iowa City Book Festival in which local writers
shared writings and stories about the Hamburg Inn related to its place in Iowa City as "a writer's
diner."
In August, the Mercy Hospital Foundation held its annual "Hear from the Doctors" event, which
featured an informational panel covering the topic of considerations one might have after being
diagnosed with cancer. The Foundation reports that they receive much positive feedback from
people who have viewed the program on TV.
In September, the League of Women Voters of Johnson County requested CTS services to
produce video -tours of the Johnson County Courthouse and the Johnson County Jail in an
attempt to inform viewers of the current state of these facilities. The videos present facts,
without directly advocating for a "yes" or "no" vote on the Justice Center bond issue found on the
November ballot.
At the end of this report, find a complete listing* of Community Television Service programs
produced during this quarter.
Features and Information Unit (formerly Community Voice)
During this quarter, the Features and Information Unit completed ten original programs ",
repackaged one preexisting segment from a past show, created three episodic promos, and
fourteen weekly promos highlighting programs currently playing on City Channel 4. Also produced
through the Features and Information Unit was a PSA on the Blue Zones initiative, at the request
of the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce.
Iowa City In Focus episodes produced this quarter featured segments highlighting the Iowa City
Book Festival, the newly constructed Butler Pedestrian Bridge, the arrival of Zipcars in Iowa
City, the Zombie 5K Run, Paws for a Cause, and the Summer of the Arts' Green Initiative. City
Manager Tom Markus conducted an interview with City staff for each episode, talking with Carol
Sweating about the City's stormwater volunteer program, Wendy Ford about the City's role in
supporting the development and growth of business in the community, and Mike Moran about the
development of the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area.
The miniseries entitled Get to Know Your City Council wrapped up with a feature on Susan Mims
this quarter. The City plans to make the programs available on each participating City Council
member's profile page on the City's website.
City Update was introduced as a vehicle for features that focused on City policies, regulations,
and programs. Human interest stories will continue to be the subjects of Community Highlights.
This quarter, the Features and Information Unit has also been working with the City's
Communications Office to plan and produce the Community Video project, which will be used on
the City's website to attract visitors, potential residents, and businesses to the city. Production is
ongoing and will likely wrap up in the Spring of 2013.
*Community Television Service programs completed from July through September 2012:
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - Orquesta Alto Malz
• Arc of Southeast Iowa - Party with a Purpose
• Johnson County Task Force on Aging - July 2012
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - Feralings
• USS Liberty Incident Commemoration
• People's Law Forum - Worker's Compensation
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - The Rod Pierson 'Not So' Big Band
• Iowa City Book Festival - 'The Burg - A Writer's Diner'- Readings and Comments
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - Tallgrass
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - The Fez
• FNCS Sneak Peek Feralings
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - Slewgrass
• AARP August 2012 - State Director of AARP Iowa - Kent Severn
• ADA Celebration 2012 - Family Roundtable Discussion
• Honoring Your Wishes - Incorporating (POST into Advance Care Planning
• 2012 Courage Ride PSA
• 2012 Sand in the City - Surf Zombies and Tony Brown
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - OSG
• The Iowa City Foreign Relations Council Presents... The University of Iowa as a Global
Institution
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - Organic Underground
• Community Seminar - What's Next? Life After a Cancer Diagnosis
• 2012 Friday Night Concert Series - Ernie Peniston Band
• Awful Purdles at the Englert Theatre
• AARP September 2012 - State Coordinator of AARP Driver Safety in Iowa - Alvin Logan
• A Tour of the Johnson County Courthouse
• National Alliance on Mental Illness of Johnson County - August 2012 - Telling Your Story
• Johnson County Task Force on Aging - September 2012
• Johnson County Jail Tour
• The Iowa City Foreign Relations Council Presents... The Cost of War, the Price of Peace
• Mercy IC - Take a Closer Look at Cholesterol
• ADA Celebration 2012 - Award to John Bacon
• Current Trends and Future Directions in Campus Adjacent Senior Housing
• The Iowa City Foreign Relations Council Presents... New Geographies in African Art
• United Way of Johnson County- Campaign for the Common Good Kickoff 2012
* *Features and Information Unit original programs completed during this quarter:
• Community Highlights: EcoFair 2012
• IC People: Ryan Baker
• Iowa City In Focus: August 2012
• Community Highlights: Party in the Park
• IC People: Keith Ruff
• City Update: Single Family New Construction Program
• Iowa City In Focus: September 2012
• Get to Know Your City Council — Susan Mims
• The Englert Theatre: Celebrating 100 Years
• Iowa City In Focus: October 2012
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